


A Family United

by Quinis



Category: Rockman.EXE | Mega Man Battle Network
Genre: And manga, Games, Gen, Japanese names, Netto knows about Saito/Rockman from the beginning, Rockman's creation, Saito's death, Universe Alteration, a blend of anime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-14 21:28:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16920708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinis/pseuds/Quinis
Summary: Netto knows his navi is a special navi. His navi was once his brother (except he's not really supposed to talk about it, even though he was there). This story is events from a different kind of life the twins could lead.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I was trying to figure out what to write next when I recalled that I had this almost finished story sitting in my google drive. I decided to start posting it in the hopes that I would be able to figure out how to end it. This story will only be about 3 chapters long as long as no surprises happen.

The hand Netto clasped so tightly gave one final twitch and went limp.

Saito was gone.

Heat prickled in Netto's eyes.

"Saito," he said. Some part understood that Saito wouldn't respond ever again, but he didn't want to accept it. "Saito!" They'd always been together. Even when Saito was in the hospital, there were still together. Netto was able to see him and they would share stories about their day. Sometimes Netto would even be allowed to sleep with Saito at the hospital.

Unwanted tears spilled from his eyes. He turned to his father.

"Papa-"

"Not now, Netto!" his father quickly interrupted as he typed away at the computer.

Netto had no idea what his father was doing but Saiot had to be more important than the computer.

Netto squeezed his brother's lifeless hand. Saito's eyes were closed, as if he was sleeping but, Netto knew they wouldn't open again. He sniffled and then cried, quietly. Quietly so that his father wouldn't yell at him again.

* * *

Time felt frozen inside the lab room. For a while, it felt like there was no world outside the lab. Netto was still and quiet, curled up under a desk. At some point, Saito's body had been covered with a sheet.

The something changed. The computer gave a beep and Dr Hikari let out a relieved breath. Netto looked up and crawled out of the dark.

"Papa?" he questioned in a small voice.

Dr HIkari jumped and smiled at Netto. "Come and see."

Netto looked up at the computer screen in shock. His brother's face was reflected on the screen.

"Saito?"

Saito's eyes opened, code flickering green within them. After a couple of moments, the green code expanded to create green eyes.

"Netto?" Saito mumbled. He looked around. He was standing in a black area with a green grid glowing on it. "Is this the net?"

"Yes," Papa confirmed with a smile on his face.

Saito smiled back. "Then, it worked?" Papa nodded again. Saito grinned wider and looked around. "This is so cool." He laughed and ran in a circle. "I don't feel tired at all!"

"What worked?" Netto asked.

His father explained how he had turned Saito int a NetNavi in order to save him. Netto listened as he was told that Saito would stay in the computer for now and that it would be unlikely that he would be able to hug him again.

"But he's okay, right?" Netto asked. His heart grew light and he joined his brother in happy cheers as their father nodded.

Before Saito died, Netto would spend time at the hospital. After Saito became a netnavi, Netto would spend time in his father's lab.

Saito smiled enthusiastically from the screen as he described being allowed out onto the net.

"And I got to wear this!" he said, pulling a cloak hood over his head. "Papa said that I can't be seen like this!"

"But I can see you," Netto pointed out.

"Not like that," Saito huffed. "It means that other navis don't know who I am."

"Oh."

Saito grinned and pressed his hands up against the window. "What did you get to do today?"

Netto grinned back and started talking about the new recipe for biscuits their mother attempted.

* * *

Netto lay on the floor of the lab, staring at the ceiling. Saito was off getting tests done. It had been a common enough thing back before he was a navi that Netto was used to waiting. It seemed like tests would always be a part of the twins' lives.

"Netto!" A voice pierced his thoughts. "Netto!"

Netto rolled over and curled into a ball. "Sleepy..."

"Netto, get up!"

Netto opened his eyes and glared at the image of his brother's face on the screen.

"Why are you like this?" he grumbled.

"Because someone needs to make sure you don't sleep the day away," Saito responded.

"Fine," Netto sighed, knowing that this was just what Saito was like. He didn't want Netto to miss out on anything. "Are your tests over?"

"Yep," Saito responded. "Papa had me talk and interact with Papa's navi! Apparently, Papa's navi will be taking me out to explore the net soon!"

"Cool! I want to to see the net too!" Netto had heard from Papa how the net was growing and how they kept finding previously unexplored areas. He wanted to explore them all.

"You need a navi for that," Saito reminded him.

Netto's cheeks puffed up. he knew that! But he didn't know how to ask Papa for a navi of his own.

"I'm sure if you ask, Papa will make you one."

Netto brought his knees to his chest and rest his head on them. "Papa's busy. I don't want to annoy him."

Saito's face fell as his little brother buried his face in his knees.

"It's papa!" he insisted. "I'm sure he won't mind. Besides, let him know now and maybe he'll make a totally awesome navi for you when you start school!"

"Maybe," Netto mumbled.

* * *

Saito perked up as Dr Hikari entered the office.

"Papa!" he called from his PET.

Dr Hikari blinked and continued working. Saito called again. This time Dr HIkari noticed.

"Netto wants a navi," Saito informed him. As he had guessed, Netto had not told their father.

"Does he? I suppose he would, what with the recent advancements in the field-" their father kept talking but Saito stopped paying attention. Their father knew now and that was the most important thing.

When he found the jottings and plans for a new blue navi in Papa's files, he smiled.

* * *

Saito came back from wandering around Net City and pulled off his cloak.

"Papa! I'm back!" he called out of the PET's speakers.

Pap was still with his head in his hands and Saito was worried. Had something happened?

"Saito," Dr Hikari said softly. It was the same tone he had used when he had first told Saito about the plan to turn him into a navi.

"Yes, Papa?" Saito responded, knowing Papa needed a prompt to start speaking.

"Would you like to spend more time with Netto?"

"Yes!"

"Everyday?"

"Yes! But I thought it wasn't possible with me like this?"

"It would be if you became Netto's netnavi."

"Netto's netnavi?"

"I know it's not possible while you look like a kid," Dr Hikari said. "This idea does mean that I'll have to put you to sleep and alter your programming."

"Will I get a weapon?" Saito asked excitedly. He loved watching other navis netbattle.

"You already have a buster," Dr Hikari sheepishly admitted. "And if we do this, Netto would be able to send you battlechips." Saito grinned widely. This was awesome! "You'll need a name fitting of a netnavi though."

Saito laughed, "yeah! I think Netto wants a navi with an awesome name."

"Do you also want an awesome name?" Dr Hikari asked his digitised son. Saito's cheeks went red and he didn't answer. Dr Hikari had no doubt that Netto wanted an 'awesome' navi but he was starting to realise Saito wanted to be an 'awesome' navi. Suddenly, he was a lot more comfortable with this plan.


	2. Chapter 2

 

Netto looked up as his mother raised her voice into the phone.

"What did Papa do?" he asked when she hung up.

"Your father won't be here for your birthday," she answered.

"Okay." Papa often wasn't home since his job was busy and important. Netto had gotten used to the hurt he felt and was resigned to this happening. It didn't make sense for Mama to be angry at Papa for it though.

"He decided to send your present by post," Haruka grumbled.

"Isn't that how presents arrive?"

"Not this present." Haruka sighed. She had a problem with letting Netto know what was being planned but she figured that telling him a little wouldn't hurt. Hopefully he wouldn't realise all the things which could go wrong. "He sent Saito."

"Papa sent a PET through the mail?" Now he got it. His parents had given him a spare PET with no navi in it to look after. If he had done that, he would have been in so much trouble. Like, no TV, no computer and no soccer in the park trouble.

"Not a PET. Papa put Saito on a disk and mailed the disk." Haruka could see Netto didn't understand why Dr Hikari had done that. "We're going to install Saito onto that PET." She pointed at the PET in Netto's hands. It already had the family emblem modified onto it, ready for Netto's future netnavi.

Netto grinned excitedly. "Does this mean I'll get to spend my birthday with Saito?"

Haruka nodded and Netto cheered.

* * *

Netto was practically vibrating the day before his birthday. The package from Papa had finally arrived.

"Saito!" he cheered, PET in one hand and disk containing his brother in the other. He attached the PET to his computer and put the disk into the disk drive. He clicked 'Install'. A loading bar appeared and filled.

Nothing happened.

"Mama!" Netto cried. Had he broken it? Was Saito lost forever? He sobbed and sobbed, grabbing onto Harkua the moment she entered the room. It took Netto a few tries to properly explain what was wrong and another distressed mumbled for Haruka to understand. Haruka pulled Netto into a hug and ruffled his hair.

"The message from Papa said that it would take a while to fully install. I'm sure Saito will be ready tomorrow."

Once Netto was calm, he got ready for bed. The PET was still dark, no navi on the screen. He really hoped Mama was right.

* * *

Booting up, Saito immediately scanned his files. There were some files missing and file names had been changed.

He was now Rockman.EXE. It was an interesting name. Not as tough sounding as he would have liked but it seemed Papa valued speed over raw power.

The newly dubbed Rockman opened his eyes. Outside the PET, he could see his brother's room. The clock ticked over to alarm time.

Rockman grinned. "Netto!" The blob of sheets on the bed didn't move. "Netto! Wake up!" The blob wiggled and stirred. Nerves fluttered in Rockman's stomach. Would Netto like him? Or would he want a real navi?

Finally, Neal woke up, jumping out of bed and dashing over to the PET.

"What the?" the messy haired boy questioned with squinted eyes and a frown.

"Happy Birthday!" Rockman said. He had thought long and hard about how to greet his brother now that Netto was his operator. He hoped his decision to keep it simple wouldn't bother Netto. "Papa made me your navi!" He knew he looked a little strange with the new blue helmet and jumpsuit but at least he looked the part of a navi.

"Sai...to?" Netto questioned.

Rockman nodded. "Although I'm Rockman.EXE too."

"Rockman?" Netto repeated as he processed this.

"Yes, Netto?"

"Does this mean we can netbattle?"

Rockman grinned back as he punched a fist. "Yes!"

* * *

No, they did not get to netbattle. They were too young, Mama said. Mama watched and made sure they didn't battle, outside of busting a couple viruses in the house systems.

So Netto and Rockman practised by busting viruses. Netto would purposely create them in the house system or his computer and Rockman would learn their attack patterns and counter. They watched official netbattles and recordings of less-than-official netbattles. Netto came up with counters to what was happening on screen and Rockman practised those maneuvers.

Outside of battling, the transition to navi and operator was tough. Netto and Saito had gone from seeing each other daily to seeing each other all the time. Rockman found Netto frustrating when he wouldn't listen to him. Netto found Rockman annoying with his constant reminders to do things.

Finally, it culminated in a fight.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Netto bellowed, tossing the PET onto the bed. "You're always on my case!"

"I just asked if you had remembered to brush your teeth!" Rockman huffed back, turning away and crossing his arms. "Maybe if you remembered to do these things yourself-"

Netto kicked his feet and screamed in frustration. "I don't need your nagging!" he bellowed. "Who needs you? I'm out of here!"

Rockman looked back as stomping footsteps pounded across the room. "N...Netto? What...?" He winced as Netto slammed the door to their room. He had probably gone out to play. Rockman sat down on the digital ground.

Did he really nag that much? He was just doing what good brothers... what good navis do, wasn't he?

Rockman waited for hours. When Netto returned, the PET was knocked across the bed and down onto the floor underneath. Rockman couldn't tell if Netto had done it on purpose or not.

He didn't feel like calling out to find out.

* * *

Haruka walked into Netto's room to see clothes and toys everywhere. She sighed and wondered if they spoiled him a little too much. While gathering up the scattered clothes, she bent down and spotted the PET underneath the bed.

"Rockman?" she questioned, pulling out the device and switching the screen on. Rockman's face filled the screen, looking forlorn. "Did Netto leave you here?"

Rockman sighed and nodded. Haruka's heart went out to her eldest. It couldn't be easy having to cater to your sibling's every will. She wished she could hug Saito but settled for just being able to talk to her baby.

"Netto hasn't picked me up in days. I think... maybe I nag him too much."

"Rockman, do you like being Netto's navi?" Haruka asked.

"Of course!"

"Then you only have to be yourself. Netto will come around."

Rockman hoped that Mama was right. But he couldn't help feeling like he had messed up. Would Netto-

A dreadful fear suddenly washed over him. This wasn't his fear, a fear of not making things right. This was someone fearing for their life.

**Netto!**

"Mama! Plug me into the computer now! I think Netto's in trouble!"

Haruka didn't question how he knew and she followed his instruction quickly. As Rockman jumped into the link to the internet, she hoped her sons would both return safe.

* * *

Netto had gotten himself locked in a shipping container during a game of hide-and-seek. The container was being moved somewhere and he was screaming for someone to hear him.

Metal screeched and buckled around him. Not just being moved then, he was also being crushed!

"Help! Someone! Anyone! I'M IN HERE!" He hung his head, thudding it against the shuddering wall. The metal screeched around him and his throat was sore. No one was there to hear him.

It was a moment later that something allowed the installed computer intercom to reconnect to the net. Or maybe it had never been disconnected in the first place.

Whatever the reason, Rockman had tracked his brother here. There wasn't much he could do to save his brother but he would stay there until the end; and pled with Netto to make sure that end is a natural one, when they're both slow and grey with age.

Netto took a deep breath and gave one last scream for help.

The shipping container buckled and his voice finally managed to reach outside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, I thought this would be 3 chapters. Nope. We're looking at 4 or 5 now (hopefully). Enjoy!

 

Rockman snickered as Haruka held Netto tight and showered him with love and kisses and stories of her worry and how she was glad he was okay. Netto shot a glare at his brother, now resting in the police station network. When Haruka was done, she remembered the PET she had brought and pulled it out.

"Alright. Netto, Rockman, it's time to go home."

"Aw," Rockman groaned. He enjoyed talking the one customised police navi in this department. Even though customised navis were still rare and expensive, SciLabs was rolling out free navis to nominated police officers so there was at least one per office. Rockman suspected that the program had been proposed by their father, as part of his efforts to integrate independent, customised navis into society so that Rockman would not seem strange.

"Rockman made a friend!" Netto announced.

"Did he now? You'll have to tell me all about it at home."

The navi in question appeared behind Rockman in a shower of pixels. He looked like a metal policeman and was big and tall.

"Hello, ma'am," he said to Haruka.

"I assume you're the navi my sons have made friends with?" Haruka responded kindly. "It's lovely to meet you."

A hearty chuckle came from behind the desk. "That's the first time someone's actually responded to him like that! I guess people who already have customised navis are of a different sort!"

"I'm sure it won't always be like that," Haruka responded with a secret smile. She knew a little of her husband's plans and knew he wouldn't stop until they were complete.

"Alright, plug your PET into my computer and we'll send Rockman back where he belongs!" the officer said cheerfully. "Although, I have no idea how he got into that shipping container without a PET in the first place."

"You could almost say that for both my sons," Haruka responded, giving Netto a look. No one was able to tell her how he managed to find his way into the shipping container either.

Netto smiled innocently back. "Can I have Rockman back, Mama?" he asked.

Haruka considered for only a moment before handing the PET to the small child. Netto hugged it to his chest and she was glad that her babies had made up.

* * *

Things settled down after that incident. Netto and Rockman grew closer and tried to work things through with words first. Then they went to their mother whenever that didn't work. But they were never separated again.

At least, not until a month before Netto was due to start grade four. Papa returned from a trip and asked if he could take Rockman for a while.

It was Papa, so the twins agreed. Netto handed over his PET with some nervousness.

"How long?" he asked.

Papa gave him a soft smile and ruffled his hair. "I'm not sure Netto. I need Rockman to help me with some theories and demonstrations."

Rockman's voice came out of the speakers, loud and clear. "But, what about Netto?"

"Customised netnavis are not necessary for school. Netto can use a standard navi."

Netto's face fell and he spent a lot of that evening staring at the ground. He didn't want a standard navi.

* * *

Papa didn't bring Rockman back. They visited but Papa always said he still needed Netto's big brother with him. As per Papa's plan, customised navis were growing in use; so much so that kids even had them. Dekao, a big kid in the next class over, raved about the customised navi he had created. Netto was glad he didn't have to listen to it.

With Rockman gone, Netto found himself looking for ways to spend his time. He also didn't have someone around to tell him when things were a bad idea. The other kids liked going along with his plans to make it so that the bell would go at the wrong times and taking over the teacher's board while she was using it in order to draw giant pictures over her text.

By the time Netto started grade 5, Papa was still a no-show, although he called often, and Netto had gained a reputation for being a troublemaker. He was now in the same class as Dekao and, just as he suspected, he couldn't stand the big guy's crowing about his navi. Netto challenged him almost daily. He lost as his standard navi just couldn't beat Dekao's customised Gutsman. However, Netto would just have to win once to prove that he was the better netbattler so he kept challenging Dekao.

Meiru was also in the same class this year too. She had acquired her own customised navi as a present from her parents for remembering to go to her piano lessons for a whole quarter. Now she had Roll to remind her when they were on and she never missed them.

Netto was happy for her and he liked Roll more than he liked Gutsman. Roll kind of reminded him of Rockman and he thought the two would be good friends. Thankfully, Meiru knew better than to bring up Rockman. While she knew that Netto had a customised netnavi, she also knew that Dr Hikari had borrowed him and not brought him back. It was a sore spot and she had learnt not to bring it up long before she acquired Roll.

A new girl joined the class, bringing the customised navi count to three. She was rich and so her navi acted more like a butler than a friend. Netto didn't have much to do with her but she was friends with Meiru so they ended up hanging out together from time to time.

School would end, Netto would lose to Dekao, Meiru would either spend a little time with him, go to piano or head off with Yaito and Netto would head home. He would play games and go on the computer and leave his homework alone. He had stopped bothering with it long ago unless he was in danger of getting detention. It was more fun to practise and plan his strategy for beating Dekao. He was so close, he could probably achieve his goal soon.

* * *

Netto refreshed the program. The standard navi on the screen still had a glitching arm, pixels missing so that it looked like he had holes in his arm. His face was glitching too, with parts appearing and disappearing as the navi moved around.

This was bad. The automatic troubleshooter couldn't detect any issues. Netto pulled up the Internet UI for humans and plugged in the numbers for a BBS board he had been following to see if anyone else had been having this issue.

It was a common enough problem when someone pushed a standard navi beyond it's capabilities or the capabilities of the PET. The only options were to customise the guy, which would involve reprogramming him from the ground up, or upgrading the PET. Upgrading the PET would be useless since that would make it far more powerful than a standard navi required, meaning Netto would have trouble with compatibility and controlling his navi in fights. While there were program packs which would help with programming one's own customised navi, they were hundreds of dollars and Netto didn't have the money for that. Plus, he wasn't looking at replacing Rockman, just beating Dekao.

Netto slumped. He had enough skill to make little modifications and fixes but he didn't have the skill to program a customised navi, especially without the appropriate software.

Worst of all, with his navi the way it is, he wouldn't be able to use it at school.

Biting the bullet, Netto took the PET and tentatively made his way downstairs where Mama was chopping up vegetables for dinner and humming a song which had been on the radio a lot lately.

"Mama? My navi's broken," he said, hoping that would be enough detail and he wouldn't have to admit he had been the one to break it, accidentally though it might have been.

"How did that happen?" Mama asked.

Netto shrugged.

"Netto."

Netto explained how and why he had been making modifications to the standard navi. His mother asked a couple of questions when terms she didn't understand popped up or when she wanted more information. Netto began rambling about how difficult school was going to be now that he stuffed up his navi and how everyone was going to laugh if he told them what happened.

"Netto."

"Mama! I know I shouldn't have been doing it but, I wanted to see the look on Dekao's face if I managed to beat him with a standard netnavi! He's just so smug about it!"

"Netto. I thought your school didn't allow netbattles?"

"Not during class," Netto mumbled, not looking his mother in the eyes.

"They don't allow it at all, Netto. This why I keep getting calls about you breaking the rules." Haruka sighed. It was becoming obvious that Netto needed a proper navi. She hadn't minded when her husband took Rockman for a little bit but, now that it had been almost a year, she was also getting upset about it. "Help me cook dinner tonight and we'll talk about your punishment later."


	4. Chapter 4

 

Netto was surprised when Mama called the school and told them that she would be keeping Netto at home for the day.

"I'm not sick," he said.

"I didn't say you were. Let them assume what they will," she responded, grabbing her bag and keys. "Now, let's go."

She didn't tell Netto where they were going but it was easy enough to figure out from the tickets Mama bought at the station. They got off the metro at the stop closest to SciLab.

"I thought Papa was overseas," Netto mused as he walked with his mother into the lobby of the big building.

"He is. However, this is the fastest way to contact him."

Netto watched in surprise as Mama revealed that she had access to Dr Hikari's lab. It was only his lab though and they were escorted up by security, who watched as she walked in and turned on the small computer at Dr Hikari's desk. Sitting on the desk was a photo of them from just over a year ago with Rockman visible on the screen of the PET Netto was holding, and a photo of the two boys on the day their parents had brought them home from the hospital.

Netto hummed, "do you think Papa will answer?"

"He will," she responded. Or someone else would. There was a reason she had come to SciLab instead of calling over the phone. Said reason linked in a moment later, appearing on the warp space on the computer's homepage.

"Mama! Netto!" Rockman greeted them, waving and smiling. Netto instantly smiled back and called a greeting to Rockman.

"Rockman, Netto's broken the standard navi in his PET," Mama explained. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind reinstalling yourself onto it."

Rockman's grin faded and he looked around. "But, Papa-"

A window opened up behind him, Dr Hikari's face filling it.

"What happened to the navi?" he asked.

Haruka gave her husband a 'do not argue with us' look before telling Netto to plug the navi into the computer.

Rockman screamed as the navi moved and its face glitched, causing Netto to laugh and their parents to smile. Dr Hikari started typing, pulling up the navi's status and looking at the coding. He gave a low whistle.

"Netto, while this is impressive, you can't do this kind of stuff to Rockman, okay?"

"Yeah, I know that," Netto responded. "Besides, I wouldn't need to do this kind of stuff to Rockman. He would beat Gutsman easily!"

Dr Hikari had no idea who 'Gutsman' was but he decided to question that later. "Although, for the stats on a standard navi to be so high and for it to still be functional is impressive."

"That's functional?" Rockman questioned with a shudder.

"Mostly," Netto said. "Netbattling is probably out which makes this a complete waste."

"Netto," Rockman groaned. He leaves his brother for a year and this is what happens? "You're not allowed to touch my programming."

"Aw come on, we've already been over this. I get it."

Rockman motioned towards the glitched navi as a counter-argument. Netto glared at him.

"Are you sure you two want to be together?" Dr Hikari questioned, a little worried about an argument breaking out.

"They'll be fine, Dear," Haruka said to her husband. "Let Rockman come home, okay?"

Dr Hikari sighed and then typed away, downloading the glitched navi from Netto's PET and uploading Rockman. He wouldn't be deleting the navi as there were some tests he could conduct on it and it would be good evidence for why customised navis needed to be more accessible.

"Welcome back, Rockman," Haruka said, once the download was completed. Rockman jumped out of the computer and into the PET with a grin. "Now, if you could remind Netto to do his homework, that would be very helpful."

"Mama!"

"Of course, Mama!" Rockman chirped, savouring the glare his little brother sent him. "Now, who's Gutsman?"

* * *

Netto returned to school with a smile on his face and Rockman groaning from the PET. It had been a while since he had been subjected to his brother's skating. Netto was a good skater and it was one of the reasons he went so fast but, he went fast  _and_  did tricks on his way to school. The world spun around the PET, throwing Rockman's calibration of the gyroscope and accelerometer out and making him the navi equivalent of dizzy.

Netto had told him about the new navis in the class, sometimes knowing more about the navi than the operator. Rockman quickly figured out that his brother was friendly to everyone and had friends but no 'best friends' who he count on to hang out with outside of school. He didn't call his brother out on it but he was going to help. Somehow. Maybe these other customised navis would help.

"I hope they're nice," he mumbled to himself as Netto threw open the door of the classroom.

Netto introduced him to Meiru and Rockman bowed as his screen was held up for her to see.

"Wow! Your dad finally got you a customised navi! He's adorable!" Meiru said.

Rockman's cheeks went red however, he gave Netto a confused look as his brother extracted himself to go to his desk.

"Don't they know about me?"

"I think they believed that I was waiting for Papa to make me a customised navi," Netto responded with a shrug. "I said you were with Papa and they assumed I hadn't received you yet."

"Strange."

"I got tired of correcting people so I just didn't bring it up," Netto said, plugging the PET into his desk. Rockman jumped onto the school network, having a look around the digital version of the classroom. There were other navis walking around, except for a pink navi who was looking right at him.

She smiled and waved, bouncing over to him. With her yellow ribbons hovering around her head, she kind of reminded him of a big pink bunny.

"Hi! You're Rockman, right?" Rockman nodded. "I'm Roll, Meiru's navi!"

"Nice to meet you," Rockman said shyly. It was strange to meet navis built around his age and height. There hadn't been many until recently as the first customised navis were closer to adults in age and mentality.

Roll cupped her hands around his and pulled them up between them. "It's nice to meet you too! I hope we can be friends!"

"O-Of course!" Rockman responded quickly. It was a shock to hear his thoughts reflected in her words but not a bad shock.

"Who's this, Roll?" a gentlemanly voice said. A tall yellow and gold navi walked over to them. This was more the mentality Rockman was used to seeing in navis.

"I'm Rockman."

"He's Netto's new navi!"

The navi nodded and gave a small bow. "I am Glyde, netnavi to Yaito Ayanokoji."

"Yaito's really smart," Roll told him. "She skipped two grades to be in this class."

"Oh."

While all the navis so far were humanoid, the one who appeared a moment later was not. He still had a head, two arms and two legs but he looked more like a bulky machine turned humanoid than a digital person like Rockman.

"That's Gutsman," Roll told him before calling the navi over. Gutsman had a stilted way of talking and seemed friendly enough.

"That's your navi?" Dekao questioned with a laugh as he looked over Rockman. Rockman narrowed his eyes as the person on the screen. "He looks tiny and weak."

"Rockman can beat Gutsman with one hand tied behind his back!" Netto said.

Rockman nodded in agreement. Gutsman might be okay but his operator needed to be taken down a few pegs.

"Netbattle?" Gutsman asked hopefully.

"Yeah!" Netto responded, challenging Dekao.

"Really?" Yaito questioned, her face appearing behind Glyde. Her forehead took up most of the screen, her blond hair pulled away from it and into the two braids poking out the sides of her head. "They do this every day."

"Today's a little different though," Meiru said, face appearing behind Roll as she spoke. "After all, Netto has Rockman this time."

"Good luck," Glyde said to him.

* * *

After class, the two kids met outside the school. There was a statue near the gate which had a security camera in it. The camera created a cyberspace which was perfect for battling since it was almost self-contained and the camera couldn't monitor itself.

Rockman knew he had been built with speed in mind but he couldn't help taking Gutsman's first punch with his hand, showing off his power. He held the bigger navi's fist and grinned, hearing Netto whoop and cheer him on from the physical world. Rockman shoved Gutsman back and showed him what one could do with a quick attack speed, throwing multiple punches and hitting the big navi multiple times before he could even process what was happening. Rockman finished it with a kick, throwing Gutsman across the space and forcibly logging him out.

Dekao gasped and recoiled in shock, crying out.

Rockman giggled as he transmitted himself back into Netto's PET. Netto tried to placate Dekao but he was happy from his win. In the end, they just left him to his decrees of working harder and beating them next time.

"That was fun!" Netto said, grinning down at him.

Rockman's grin was just as wide. Netbattling was so much fun! "We'll have to do that again!"

"I'm sure we will." They were both thinking about Dekao challenging them as they were leaving. They could probably fight him as much as they wanted.

"But first we need to get your homework done," Rockman pointed out.

"Rockman!" Netto groaned while his navi laughed at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank goodness this didn't become some epic adventure. I'm ending it here, with the twins reunited, kicking butt and taking names and leading right into the games/anime storylines. Thanks for reading!


End file.
